Device and method for turning, opening and filling transport bags conveyed in a suspended manner

ABSTRACT

A conveying unit ( 10 ) for the suspended transport of transport elements ( 40 ) in a conveyor system, in particular a rail-guided ( 86 ) conveyor system or a conveyor-chain system, includes a support hook ( 21 ) attached to a conveying element ( 20 ), in particular a carriage or a conveyor-chain link, a transport element ( 40 ), and a suspension hook ( 41 ) attached to the transport element, wherein the suspension hook is mounted in a suspended manner in the support hook. The support hook is configured such that the suspension hook can take up two stable positions ( 61, 62 ) in the support hook. The suspension hook ( 41 ) in a first stable position ( 61 ) has been turned through an angle with respect to the suspension hook in a second stable position ( 62 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to the field of transport and conveyingtechnology, and relates to a conveying unit for transporting transportelements in a suspended manner, in particular transport bags, clotheshangers, and container holding devices, in a conveying system, inparticular a rail-guided conveying system or a conveyor chain system.The present invention further relates to a conveying system having suchconveying units, a method for introducing piece goods into transportelements of a conveying system, and a method for visually inspectingclothes hangers, garments hung on clothes hangers, or containers.

Discussion of Related Art

In automated warehouses, large production facilities, and in general inthe conveying and transport of goods, suspension conveying systems haveproven to be an efficient means for the transport, intermediate bufferstorage, and long-term storage of various types of goods. In suspensionconveying systems, the goods are either suitably suspended directly onindividual conveying elements of a conveying system, for example clotheshangers with garments hung thereon, or introduced into appropriatetransport elements such as transport bags, which in turn are mounted ina suspended manner on the conveying elements.

Suspension conveying systems may be implemented as transport chainfacilities in which a plurality of conveying elements form links in achain that is moved along a conveying path.

Also known are gravity-driven conveying systems in which individualconveying elements equipped with wheels move on corresponding rails. Oneexample of such a gravity-driven, rail-guided conveying system is knownfrom WO 2016/030275 A1 by the present applicant.

Suspension conveying systems with transport elements are particularlysuited for efficiently conveying heterogeneous piece good articles, forexample workpieces in production processes, replacement parts, andconsumer goods such as books, clothing, shoes, etc.

Thus, for example, suspension conveying systems may be used in logisticscenters of mail order companies for storing a plurality of articles ofvarious sizes and weights, and for picking groups of articles accordingto the particular customer orders and providing them for shipment.

In this regard, one relevant aspect for a suspension conveying system issimple, smooth, and efficient introduction of goods into empty transportelements and removing the goods from the transport elements.

Manual filling of provided empty transport elements, for exampletransport bags, allows flexible handling of various goods, but is slowand costly.

EP 2196415 A2 describes a loading station for transport bags that aretransported in a suspension conveyor facility. The transport bags in theconveying direction have a reinforced wall with a suspension hook at anupper end that is suspended on a trolley. The wall is orientedtransversely with respect to the conveying direction. A fabric web ismounted on a pivotable frame bracket that is attached to the upper endof the wall and is mounted on the lower end of the wall, thus forming abag that is open at the side. An empty transport bag is suppliedvertically from the top via a feed drive. The pocket is brought into anopen state via corresponding lateral guide elements on the frame bracketand on the lower end of the wall, and is filled via a conveyor belt anda chute. The filled transport bag is subsequently carried away. Duringthe filling operation, a transport bag must be laboriously guided by twocorners, which limits the throughput and increases the structural volumeof the device.

DE 102004018569 A1 discloses another device for loading transport bagsin a suspension conveyor facility. The transport bags have a framebracket, suspended on a conveying element transverse to the conveyingdirection, which defines an upper opening of the pocket. A flexiblefabric web fastened to the frame bracket at two ends forms a bag forreceiving piece good elements. Side walls enclose only a lower portionof the sides of the bag, so that lateral insertion openings remain. Whenthe transport bags are moved along the conveying path by the device,appropriately designed connecting links move the frame bracket, which isvertically suspended in the empty state of the transport bag, into ahorizontal position in which the lateral insertion openings are open toa maximum extent. The articles may now be manually tossed into thepocket through the lateral openings. Automatic filling is not possible,since the upper openings of the pockets are not accessible due to therail of the conveying system.

EP 2418160 A1 discloses another loading station for transport bags thatare transported in a suspension conveyor facility. The transport bagshave a frame bracket that is suspended on a conveying element; two endsof a flexible fabric web are fastened to the frame bracket and form abag. A pressure plate is situated below the suspension hook of the bag.A runner is situated in the loading station, and when a transport bag ismoved through the loading station, the runner pushes the pressure plate,and thus also the transport bag, from an orientation transverse to theconveying direction into an orientation parallel to the conveyingdirection, and holds them in this orientation over the course of therunner. The shape of the suspension hook is selected in such a way thatit is pushed upwardly in the support hook of the conveying element, awayfrom a point where the potential energy is at a minimum. At the sametime, the frame bracket is also pushed outwardly, perpendicularly withrespect to the conveying direction, and assumes a position in which thebag is open at the top. In this position, the transport bag may befilled from the side, through the upper opening. After leaving the areaof the runner, the suspension hook slides back on the support hook tothe point where the potential energy is at a minimum, and the pocketswivels back into an orientation transverse to the conveying direction.

DE 102012018925 A1 discloses yet another loading station for transportbags that are transported in a suspension conveyor facility. Thetransport bags have a rear wall that is suspended on a conveying elementtransverse to the conveying direction, as well as a front wall and abase. Upon passing through the loading station, two ramps press lateralwing areas of the rear wall of the transport bag upwardly, so thatultimately the pocket with the horizontal rear wall moves in theconveying direction. The goods may now be laterally inserted into thepocket through the open sides, or may be tossed in through the upperopening of the pocket, opposite the conveying direction.

There is a general need for improvements in this field of technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a conveying unit fortransporting transport elements in a suspended manner, in particular arail-guided conveying system or a conveyor chain system, which allowssimple and efficient filling of the transport elements, and/or allows asimple visual inspection.

A further object of the invention is to provide a correspondingconveying system.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a method forintroducing piece goods into transport elements of a conveying system.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method for visuallyinspecting clothes hangers, garments hung on clothes hangers, orcontainers.

These and other objects are achieved by a conveying unit according tothe invention, a conveying system according to the invention, and themethod according to the invention according to the independent claims.Further preferred embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims.

A conveying unit according to the invention for transporting transportelements in a suspended manner, in particular a rail-guided conveyingsystem or a conveyor chain system, comprises a support hook that ismounted on a conveying element, in particular a carriage or a conveyorchain link, a transport element, and a suspension hook that is mountedon the transport element, wherein the suspension hook is supported inthe support hook in a suspended manner. The support hook is designed insuch a way that the suspension hook can assume at least two stablepositions in the support hook, wherein the suspension hook in a firststable position is rotated about an angle relative to the suspensionhook into a second stable position.

The support hook and/or the suspension hook may be designed as closedeyes, or as open or reversibly closable hooks.

The suspension hook is advantageously transferable back and forthbetween the first stable position and the second stable position in sucha way that the suspension hook continuously rests on the support hook.

Alternatively or additionally, the support hook has a first bearingsegment and a second bearing segment; in the first stable position thesuspension hook rests on the first segment, and in the second stableposition rests on the second segment, and situated between the firstsegment and the second segment is a connecting segment on which thesuspension hook is slidingly transferable back and forth between thefirst stable position and the second stable position.

In a conveying unit according to the invention, the support hookadvantageously has a first bearing segment and a second bearing segment,wherein the support hook is designed in such a way that in a given firstspatial orientation of the support hook, the suspension hook may assumea first stable position on the first bearing segment, in which thesuspension hook is oriented in a first plane; and in a given secondspatial orientation of the support hook, which may be the same as ordifferent from the first spatial orientation, the suspension hook mayassume a second stable position on the second bearing segment, in whichthe suspension hook is oriented in a second plane, wherein thesuspension hook is transferable back and forth between the firstposition and the second position.

In such a conveying unit, the support hook is advantageously designed insuch a way that in a given spatial orientation of the support hook, thesuspension hook may assume the first stable position on the firstbearing segment, in which the suspension hook is oriented in the firstplane; and in the same spatial orientation of the support hook, thesuspension hook may assume the second stable position on the secondbearing segment, in which the suspension hook is oriented in the secondplane, wherein the first position and the second position correspond tolocal minima of the potential energy of the transport element that issupported in a suspended manner, and wherein the suspension hook istransferable back and forth between the first stable position and thesecond stable position by rotating the suspension hook about a givenrotational angle.

The rotational angle of the suspension hook is advantageously between 0and 180°, more advantageously between 45° and 135°, and particularlyadvantageously between 80° and 100°.

In one alternative advantageous embodiment, in such a conveying unit thesupport hook is designed in such a way that in a given first spatialorientation of the support hook, the suspension hook may assume thefirst stable position on the first bearing segment, in which thesuspension hook is oriented in the first plane; and in a second spatialorientation of the support hook that is different from the given firstspatial orientation, the suspension hook may assume the second stableposition on the second bearing segment, in which the suspension hook isoriented in the second plane, wherein in the given first spatialorientation of the support hook, the first position corresponds to aminimum of the potential energy of the transport element that issupported in a suspended manner; in the given second spatial orientationof the support hook, the second position corresponds to a minimum of thepotential energy of the transport element that is supported in asuspended manner, and the suspension hook is transferable back and forthbetween the first position and the second position by rotating thesupport hook about a given rotational angle.

The rotational angle of the support hook is advantageously between 0 and180°, more advantageously between 30° and 120°, and particularlyadvantageously between 45° and 90°.

The suspension hook is particularly advantageously transferable back andforth between the first position and the second position by rotating theconveying element about the conveying direction.

In another alternative advantageous embodiment of such a conveying unit,the support hook is designed in such a way that in a given first spatialorientation of the support hook, the suspension hook may assume thefirst stable position on the first bearing segment, in which thesuspension hook is oriented in the first plane; and in a second spatialorientation of the support hook that is different from the given firstspatial orientation, the suspension hook may assume the first stableposition on the first bearing segment, in which the suspension hook isoriented in the first plane, and may also assume the second stableposition on the second bearing segment, in which the suspension hook isoriented in the second plane, wherein in the given first spatialorientation of the support hook, the first position corresponds to aminimum of the potential energy of the transport element that issupported in a suspended manner, and wherein in the second spatialorientation, the first position and the second position correspond tolocal minima of the potential energy of the transport element that issupported in a suspended manner, and wherein the suspension hook istransferable back and forth between the first stable position and thesecond stable position by rotating the suspension hook about a givenrotational angle.

The rotational angle of the support hook is advantageously between 0 and180°, more advantageously between 30° and 120°, and particularlyadvantageously between 45° and 90°.

The suspension hook is particularly advantageously transferable from thesecond position into the first position by rotating the conveyingelement about the conveying direction.

In the above-mentioned conveying units, the transport element isadvantageously a container with at least one stable wall.

The transport element of a conveying unit may be a transport bag.

Alternatively, the transport elements may have some other design, forexample as transport boxes or transport bins, as flexible transportbags, or as lightweight rod assemblies with textile walls stretched inbetween, etc.

Such a transport bag of a conveying unit particularly advantageouslyincludes a rear wall and a front wall that are flexibly joined togethervia a base section in such a way that they are movable back and forthbetween a first state in which they form a pocket that is open andfellable at the top, and a second state in which they are situated closetogether and form a folded-up bag, wherein the rear wall is extendedupwardly beyond the level of the front wall, with a support section forfastening the transport bag to the conveying element, and wherein thesuspension hook is mounted on an upper end of the support section.

In addition, the transport bag may have opening means that canautomatically bring the transport bag into the first state and hold itthere.

In another advantageous conveying unit, at least one spacer element issituated between the front wall and the rear wall of the transport bagand is pivotably connected to the front wall and the rear wall,respectively, wherein the at least one spacer element is designed andarranged in such a way that when the pocket is empty, the transport bagautomatically goes from the first state into the second state bygravity.

The transport bag may particularly advantageously be brought from thesecond state into the first state by raising the front wall.

A spacer element is advantageously situated between the front wall andthe rear wall of the transport bag, at a lower end of the front wall andat an upper end of the front wall, on both sides in each case, and ispivotably connected to the front wall and the rear wall, respectively.Such a configuration allows, for example, a flexible design for the basesection of a conveying unit.

The spacer elements advantageously have a bend that is directed awayfrom the pocket interior. Such a bent design, for example, increases theusable opening of the pocket, and also increases the mechanicalstability.

A transport element of a conveying unit according to the inventionadvantageously has at least one stop bracket on a rear wall thatprevents or hinders swiveling of a spacer element beyond the plane,formed by the rear wall, on the side of the rear wall facing away fromthe front wall.

The transport element advantageously has at least one second hook.

Alternatively, the transport element of a conveying unit according tothe invention may be a clothes hanger, in particular a suspended clotheshanger or a clamping bracket.

Alternatively, the transport element of a conveying unit according tothe invention may be a device for holding two or more containers.

Such empty or filled containers may, for example, be liquid containerssuch as bottles, pressurized containers for gases, containers foraerosol spray cans, or metal cans. However, the stated containers alsoencompass any other type of container or package for fluids or solidmaterials, for example bags, sacks, or cartons, or in general, any typesof individual objects and products that are mechanically grippable inany manner. The containers may be made of glass, metal, paper,cardboard, or polymer material, etc., depending on the application.Thus, for example, filled and sealed wine bottles, semi-finished goodsfor the manufacture of spray cans, or potato chip bags, cigarettecartons, sacks containing bulk material, etc., may be conveyed.

Such transport devices according to the invention are thus generallysuited for intralogistics in a manufacturing chain and/or warehousemanagement and/or customer shipping. In particular, such transportdevices allow the flexible coupling of successive processing operationsin a production chain. For example, if a device for packaging goods hasa different processing capacity than an upstream device formanufacturing the goods, a buffer may be provided via such a transportdevice. Likewise, temporary production downtimes during maintenanceactivities or exchange of individual facility parts may be compensatedfor. The individual transport of the conveying units also allowsindividual processing of fairly small lot sizes.

A conveying system according to the invention for the guided suspendedtransport of transport elements, in particular transport bags and/orclothes hanger elements, along a conveying path, in particular arail-guided conveying system or a conveyor chain system, includes atleast one of the above-mentioned advantageous conveying units.

In such a conveying system, the first plane, in which the suspensionhook is oriented in the first stable position, is essentially transverseto the conveying direction; and the second plane, in which thesuspension hook is oriented in the second stable position, isessentially parallel to the conveying direction.

An operative arrangement is advantageously provided in the conveyingsystem, via which the transport elements may be rotated about a givenrotational angle at a given location on the conveying path, so that thesuspension hook is transferred from the first position into the secondposition, or from the second position into the first position.

The rearrangement of the transport elements, for example transport bagsand clothes hanger elements, advantageously takes place by rotating thetransport elements themselves, advantageously about a center axis.

A brush arrangement or a mechanical, electrical, magnetic, or pneumaticactuating means is particularly advantageously provided as an operativearrangement.

Alternatively, in an advantageous conveying system, in one given sectionof the conveying path the support hook of the conveying unit is orientedin such a way that the suspension hook of the transport element assumesa first stable position, and in another given section the support hookof the conveying unit is oriented in such a way that the suspension hookof the transport element assumes a second stable position.

Transferring the suspension hook from the first stable position into thesecond stable position, or from the second stable position into thefirst stable position, is particularly advantageously initiated byrotating the conveying element about the conveying direction during thetransition between the one given section and the other given section ofthe conveying path.

In the above-mentioned conveying systems having transport bags, furtheropening means may be provided via which a transport bag may be broughtinto the first open state at a given location on the conveying path,with the suspension hook in the second position and the rear wall of thetransport bag oriented essentially parallel to the conveying direction.

A lifting arrangement, in particular a lifting table or a ramparrangement, is particularly advantageously provided as an openingmeans.

The opening means may also be designed as a ramp that is arranged insuch a way that the base section of an empty pocket is continuouslylifted from the ramp during the conveying, so that the transport baggoes into the first, open state.

In another advantageous embodiment of such a conveying system, anopening device is provided as an opening means, comprising a pluralityof staggered conveying and lifting devices having a lower rollerelement, so that the lower roller elements of the opening device form anascending ramp.

The stated roller ramp allows the lower edge of the front wall to beraised during conveying of an empty transport bag along the conveyingpath, so that the front wall as a whole is raised, and due to thegeometrically specified operative connection via spacer elements and/orthe base section, is moved away from the rear wall, thus opening theopening of the pocket. The load, for example a piece good unit, may nowbe introduced into the pocket.

The conveying and lifting devices particularly advantageously have anupper roller element, so that the lower roller elements and the upperroller elements of the opening device form a conveyor channel.

Such an embodiment offers the advantage that the lower rollers on theone hand can raise the front wall, and on the other hand, together withthe upper rollers, form a guide channel for the transport bags, in whichthe transport bags of the conveying units reliably take a reproduciblepath. The upper rollers form a stop for the front wall or the rear wall,depending on how the transport bags are oriented in relation to theconveying and lifting units, so that the transversal movement in thedirection of the upper rollers is limited.

Additionally or alternatively, the lower roller elements and/or theupper roller elements of the conveying and lifting units may be activelydriven. Such an active drive avoids or reduces an undesired brakingaction of the opening device on the transport bags of the conveyingunits conveyed therein.

The rotational direction and the rotational speed of the roller elementsare advantageously coordinated with the conveying speed at the locationof the corresponding roller elements in such a way that the tangentialperipheral speed of the roller elements corresponds to the longitudinalconveying speed. This means that the transport bag of a conveying unitis conveyed by the rollers at the same speed and in the same directionas the carriage of the conveying unit. Accordingly, swinging of thetransport bags in the longitudinal direction is not possible, and theposition of the bag is stabilized, even at high conveying speeds orpositive and negative accelerations.

The lower roller elements and the upper roller elements of the conveyingand lifting units are advantageously arranged at an angle between 75°and 105° relative to one another, and perpendicular to the conveyingdirection. The lower roller elements and the upper roller elements areparticularly advantageously arranged at a right angle relative to oneanother. In one particularly advantageous embodiment, the lower rollerelements are inclined with respect to the horizontal by an angle between5° and 30°.

Such an embodiment offers the advantage that, transverse to theconveying direction, the movement of the transport bag in one directionis limited by the upper rollers, and in the other direction is limitedby the slightly inclined lower rollers. The transport bags of theconveying units reliably take a reproducible path.

Another option is the use of a ramp-shaped conveyor belt that runsanalogously to the ramp mentioned above, but with the advantage that thetransport bag is actively carried along at its lower end, so thatopening the pocket may take place in a very controlled manner.

In one advantageous conveying system, the opening means may thus includea lower belt conveyor situated in a ramp-shaped manner. This lower beltconveyor, analogously to the lower roller elements discussed above,raises the front wall of the transport bags.

The stated belt conveyor ramp allows the lower edge of the front wall tobe raised during conveying of an empty transport bag along the conveyingpath, so that the front wall as a whole is raised, and due to thegeometrically specified operative connection via spacer elements and/orthe base section, is moved away from the rear wall, thus opening theopening of the pocket. The load, for example a piece good unit, may nowbe introduced into the pocket

Such an opening means particularly advantageously has an upper beltconveyor, so that the lower belt conveyor and the upper belt conveyorform a conveyor channel.

Such an embodiment offers the advantage that the lower belt conveyor onthe one hand can raise the front wall, and on the other hand, togetherwith the upper belt conveyor, forms a guide channel for the transportbags, in which the transport bags of the conveying units reliably take areproducible path. The upper belt conveyor forms a stop for the frontwall or the rear wall, depending on how the transport bags are orientedin relation to the belt conveyor, so that the transversal movement inthe direction of the upper belt conveyor is limited.

Additionally or alternatively, the lower belt conveyor and/or the upperbelt conveyor may be actively driven. Such an active drive avoids orreduces an undesired braking action of the opening device on thetransport bags of the conveying units conveyed therein.

The conveying direction and the conveying speed of the belt conveyors isadvantageously the same as the longitudinal conveying speed of theconveying units. This means that the transport bag of a conveying unitis conveyed by belt conveyors at the same speed and in the samedirection as the carriage of the conveying unit. Accordingly, swingingof the transport bags in the longitudinal direction is not possible, andthe position of the bag is stabilized, even at high conveying speeds orpositive and negative accelerations. If the conveying speeds aredifferent at various locations on the conveying path, multiple beltconveyors may also be arranged one behind the other in a staggeredmanner, and can take these different speeds into account.

The lower belt conveyor and the upper belt conveyor are advantageouslyarranged at an angle between 75° and 105° relative to one another. Thelower belt conveyor and the upper belt conveyor are particularlyadvantageously arranged at a right angle relative to one another. In oneparticularly advantageous embodiment, the lower belt conveyor isinclined with respect to the horizontal by an angle between 5° and 30°.

Such an embodiment offers the advantage that, transverse to theconveying direction, the movement of the transport bag in one directionis limited by the upper belt conveyor, and in the other direction islimited by the slightly inclined lower belt conveyor. The transport bagsof the conveying units reliably take a reproducible path.

The above-mentioned conveying and lifting units and belt conveyor mayalso be combined in an opening device for a conveying system accordingto the invention.

In addition, the above-mentioned conveying systems may have a device forintroducing piece good units into the open pocket of the transport bag.

A plurality of transport bags arranged in a staggered manner may beprovided in a provision section of the conveying path of the conveyingsystem.

The support hooks of the conveying units are advantageously designed insuch a way that they allow such a staggered arrangement. The supporthooks advantageously have a bearing segment, which in the staggeredarrangement of the transport bags allows a stable position of thesuspension hooks.

Such staggered arrangements of transport bags may be used anywhere in aconveying system. They may be used for various applications and forfulfilling various functions within a conveying system.

It is also possible to convey and displace entire groups of suchtransport bags in a staggered arrangement as a whole within theconveying system.

In another conveying system according to the invention for the guidedsuspended transport of transport bags along a conveying path, inparticular a rail-guided conveying system or a conveyor chain system,the conveying system is designed in such a way that a plurality oftransport bags may be provided in a staggered arrangement on a givensection of the conveying path.

The support hooks of the conveying units are once again advantageouslydesigned so that they allow such a staggered arrangement. The supporthooks advantageously have a bearing segment, which in the staggeredarrangement of the transport bags allows a stable position of thesuspension hooks.

The stated staggered arrangements of transport bags may be used anywherein the conveying system. They may be used for various applications andfor fulfilling various functions within a conveying system.

Entire groups of such transport bags in a staggered arrangement may beconveyed and displaced as a whole within the conveying system.

A method according to the invention for introducing piece goods intotransport elements of a conveying system comprises the steps:

-   -   providing a conveying system according to the invention as        discussed above;    -   supplying a conveying unit of the conveying system along the        conveying path, with the suspension hook of the transport        element in the first stable position;    -   transferring the suspension hook of the transport element of the        stated conveying unit from the first stable position into the        second stable position;    -   introducing at least one piece good unit into the        ready-to-receive transport element of the stated conveying unit;        and    -   transferring the suspension hook of the stated transport element        from the second stable position into the first stable position.

In such a method, the conveying units of the conveying system areadvantageously one of the above-discussed conveying units according tothe invention with a transport bag, wherein in the first position of thesuspension hook the rear wall of the transport bag is orientedessentially transversely with respect to the conveying direction, andwherein in the second position of the suspension hook the rear wall ofthe transport bag is oriented essentially parallel to the conveyingdirection.

In one of the above-mentioned methods, prior to introducing a piece goodunit into the pocket of the transport bag of a conveying unit, thetransport bag is particularly advantageously transferred from the secondstate into the first state.

In the above-mentioned methods, a plurality of transport bags isadvantageously provided in a staggered arrangement.

A method according to the invention for visually inspecting garmentshung on clothes hanger transport elements of a conveying system orcontainers held in container holding devices of a conveying systemcomprises the steps:

-   -   providing a conveying system according to the invention as        discussed above;    -   supplying a conveying unit of the conveying system along the        conveying path, with the suspension hook of the clothes hanger        transport element or of the container holding device transport        element in the first stable position;    -   transferring the suspension hook of the clothes hanger transport        element or of the container holding device transport element of        the stated conveying unit from the first stable position into        the second stable position;    -   visually inspecting the front side and/or rear side of a garment        hung on the clothes hanger transport element or a container held        in the container holding device of the transport element; and    -   transferring the suspension hook of the clothes hanger transport        element or of the container holding device transport element of        the stated conveying unit from the second stable position into        the first stable position.

Within the context of the present disclosure, a visual inspection isintended to mean in general any image capture directly by the eyesand/or with optical aids (cameras, etc.), with subsequent evaluation byhumans and/or automatic systems.

The stated visual inspection may be advantageous for variousapplications. For example, the type of returned empty clothes hangersmay be determined to allow sorting, or the type or the state of agarment hung on a clothes hanger may be identified or checked. Likewise,the type or the state of the containers may be identified or checked,for example in a production process or a logistics process.

In the above-mentioned method, the conveying units of the conveyingsystem are advantageously conveying units with clothes hanger transportelements or container holding device transport elements, wherein in thefirst position of the suspension hook the clothes hanger transportelement or the container holding device transport element is orientedessentially transversely with respect to the conveying direction, andwherein in the second position of the suspension hook the clothes hangertransport element or the container holding device transport element isoriented essentially parallel to the conveying direction.

In one of the above-mentioned methods, prior to the visual inspection ofthe front side and/or rear side of a garment hung on the clothes hangertransport element, the clothes hanger transport element is particularlyadvantageously transferred from the second state into the first state,or prior to the visual inspection of the front side and/or rear side ofa container held on the container holding device transport element, thecontainer holding device transport element is transferred from thesecond state into the first state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference is made below to the drawings for better understanding of thepresent invention. The drawings show embodiments of the inventivesubject matter strictly by way of example.

Identical or functionally equivalent parts in the figures and theassociated description are provided with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a first possible embodiment of a conveyingunit according to the invention, in a first stable position with thesuspension hook essentially transverse to the conveying direction, (a)in a side view with the conveying direction toward the right and adetail in the area of the coupling of the two hooks; (b) in an obliqueview from the rear; (c) in a rear view looking in the conveyingdirection, and (d), (e), (f) in various perspective views of the supporthook.

FIG. 1A schematically shows the conveying unit from FIG. 1, with analternative embodiment of a transport element as a transport bag withadditional means for transporting garments on clothes hangers, in afirst stable position with the suspension hook essentially transverse tothe conveying direction, in a side view with the conveying directiontoward the right.

FIG. 1B schematically shows another embodiment of a transport element inthe form of a transport bag that may be used in a conveying unitaccording to the invention, (a) in a perspective view in the openconfiguration, and (b) in a rear view looking in the conveying directionin the closed, folded-up configuration.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a second possible embodiment of a conveyingunit according to the invention, in a detail view of the suspension hooksupported in the support hook, (a) with the suspension hook in a firststable position essentially transverse to the conveying direction; and(b) with the suspension hook in a second stable position with thesuspension hook essentially parallel to the conveying direction.

FIG. 2A schematically shows the embodiment of a conveying unit accordingto the invention from FIG. 2, with a clothes hanger element supported inthe support hook, (a) with the suspension hook in a first stableposition essentially transverse to the conveying direction; and (b) withthe suspension hook in a second stable position with the suspension hookessentially parallel to the conveying direction.

FIG. 3 schematically shows one possible embodiment of a conveying systemaccording to the invention, with conveying units as shown in FIG. 1, twooperating devices for rotating a transport element between two stablepositions, and an opening means situated in between.

FIG. 3A schematically shows another possible embodiment of a conveyingsystem according to the invention, with conveying units as shown in FIG.2A.

FIG. 4 schematically shows a further possible embodiment of a conveyingsystem according to the invention, in which a plurality of unfilledtransport elements is provided in a staggered arrangement upstream fromthe opening means.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a third possible embodiment of a conveyingunit according to the invention, in a second stable position with thesuspension hook essentially parallel to the conveying direction, (a) ina side view of the transport element looking in the conveying direction,and a detail A in the area of the coupling of the two hooks; and (b) ina front view.

FIG. 5A schematically shows yet another possible embodiment of aconveying unit according to the invention, in a detail view of thesuspension hook and the support hook, (a) with the support hook in afirst orientation with respect to the vertical and the suspension hookof a transport bag in the only stable position, and (b) with the supporthook in a second orientation with respect to the vertical and thesuspension hook in a second of two possible stable positions.

FIG. 6 schematically shows a fourth possible embodiment of a conveyingunit according to the invention in a detail view of the suspension hooksupported in the support hook, (a) with the suspension hook in a firststable position in which the support section of the transport bagextends essentially transversely with respect to the conveyingdirection; (b) with the suspension hook in a second stable position inwhich the support section of the transport bag extends essentially inparallel to the conveying direction; and (c) in a top view of thesupport surface of the support hook.

FIG. 7 schematically shows a fifth possible embodiment of a conveyingunit according to the invention in a detail view, with the suspensionhook in a first stable position in which a clothes hanger extendsessentially transversely with respect to the conveying direction.

FIG. 8 schematically shows a sixth possible embodiment of a conveyingunit according to the invention, with a clothes hanger element supportedin the support hook, with the suspension hook in a first stable positionin which the clothes hanger is essentially transverse to the conveyingdirection.

FIG. 9 schematically shows a seventh possible embodiment of a conveyingunit according to the invention, with a holding device for multiplecontainers supported in the support hook, with the suspension hook in afirst stable position in which the holding device is essentiallytransverse to the conveying direction.

FIG. 10 schematically shows in a side view the use of conveying unitsaccording to the invention, similarly to FIG. 9, wherein in an area Athe holding devices of the conveying units are in a stable stateparallel to the conveying direction, and in an area C are in adifferent, second state transverse to the conveying direction.

FIG. 11 schematically shows in a top view the use of conveying unitsaccording to the invention, similarly to FIG. 9, wherein in area C theholding devices of the conveying units are in a first stable statetransverse to the conveying direction, in a transition area B theholding devices are transferred from the first stable state into thesecond stable state, or vice versa, by appropriate actuating means, andin an area A the holding devices are in a second stable state parallelto the conveying direction.

FIG. 12 schematically shows a side view of one advantageous embodimentof an opening device for opening transport bags of conveying unitsaccording to the invention in a conveying system.

FIG. 13 schematically shows the opening device from FIG. 12 withomission of further parts of the facility and the conveying units, (a)in a perspective view and (b) in a side view.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One first possible embodiment of a conveying unit 10 according to theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 1. A transport element 40 in the formof a transport bag has a suspension hook 41 that is suspended in asupport hook 21 of a conveying element 20. In the example shown, theconveying element is a trolley or carriage of a gravity-drivensuspension conveyor facility, analogous to the facility as disclosed,for example, in WO 2016/030275 A1 by the present applicant. For betterunderstanding, the carriage 20 is illustrated on a rail 86 of aconveying system, where it moves in an intended conveying direction 82.

The transport bag includes a front wall 44, a base section 45, and arear wall 42 that are pivotably connected at the abutting edges. Thefront wall, rear wall, and base section have a stable design, and may bemade, for example, of a suitable plastic material such as a hollowchamber panel. Flexibly designed side walls 46 connect the front wall,rear wall, and base section, resulting in a pocket 47 with an openinginto which at least one piece good unit 70 may be loaded. In the exampleshown, the side walls are made of a fine-mesh net. It is also possibleto use a flexible textile material. The side walls 46 are designed insuch a way that when the transport bag is folded up, they are likewisefolded up, as described below.

A pivotably fastened spacer 50 in the form of a wire bracket is situatedon each side, between the front wall 44 and the rear wall 42. Thespacers 50 are situated essentially parallel to the base section 45 andhave the same length as the base section, and the front wall 44 issituated essentially parallel to the rear wall 42, so that the rear wall42, spacer 50, front wall 44, and base section 45 form a parallelogram.In the unloaded state, the weight of the front wall and the base sectionmay drop the front wall downwardly, so that the transport bag goes intoa second state in which the front wall and the rear wall are close toone another. In this configuration the transport bag may be kept in aconveying system in a space-saving manner by lining up the conveyingunits flush on a rail, one behind the other.

The transport bag may be transferred from the second, folded-up stateinto a first, unfolded state by raising the front wall 44 and/or thebase section 45 with respect to the rear wall 42, as shown in FIG. 1.The upwardly directed opening in the pocket 47 of the transport bag 40is now at a maximum size.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, a piece good unit, schematicallyillustrated by a cuboidal object 70, is situated in the pocket 47 of thetransport bag 40.

Two guide rollers 54 are situated at a lower end of the rear wall 42.The guide rollers may be used to additionally move the transport bag 40during the conveying in a conveying system when the transport bag isbeing displaced along the conveying direction 82, for example by guidingone or both guide rollers in a connecting link. Similarly, the two guiderollers 55 mounted at an upper end of the front wall 44 may be used toraise the front wall 42.

The rear wall 42 at its upper end is extended into a support section 43,at the upper end of which the suspension hook 41 in the form of a wirebracket is pivotably connected to the rear wall 42 or the supportsection 43 thereof. The bracket of the suspension hook 41 defines anorientation plane of the suspension hook, and thus, of the entiretransport bag.

The support hook 21 is mounted on a lower end of the carriage 20 facingaway from the rail 86. The support hook may be made of metal or asuitable polymer material, for example a glass fiber-reinforcedthermoplastic material. The support hook 21 has a bracket, which isclosed in the installed state, with two bearing segments 22, 23. In thehorizontal position of the carriage, the first bearing segment 22corresponds to the lowest point of the bracket of the support hook. Inthe illustration in FIG. 1, the suspension hook 41 is in a stableposition in which the suspension hook is supported in the first bearingsegment 22, where the potential energy is at a minimum. In this stableposition, the suspension hook 41 is oriented in a plane transverse tothe conveying direction 82, and a front side 48 of the pocket of thetransport bag faces in the conveying direction 82.

In the present context, the term “transverse” is understood to mean anyorientation of the suspension hook plane in which the suspension hook isnot in a plane essentially parallel to the conveying direction 82. Inthe example shown, the suspension hook, the same as the rear wall 42, issituated in a plane perpendicular to the conveying direction 82.However, other angles would also be possible for which transport bags inthe empty or filled state may be supported lined up on the rail in aspace-saving manner, one behind the other.

A second bearing segment 23, slightly elevated with respect to the firstbearing segment 22, is present on the support hook 21, and is delimitedby a small projection 25 on the bracket of the support hook. This secondbearing segment 23 likewise corresponds to a local minimum of thepotential energy of the suspension hook 41 that is suspended in thesupport hook. The suspension hook is stable in this second position. Thesuspension hook must be lifted over the projection 25 in order to gofrom the first stable position into the second stable position, and viceversa.

In the second stable position, the suspension hook is oriented in aplane essentially parallel to the conveying direction. The term“essentially parallel” is understood to mean that with a correspondingorientation of the suspension hook, and thus also of the rear wall ofthe transport bag, the opening of the pocket is easily accessible forfilling from the side, i.e., transverse to the conveying direction. Inthe exemplary embodiment shown, the second stable position correspondsto an orientation of the suspension hook plane parallel to the conveyingdirection 82. However, an orientation, for example, at an angle of 30°to 45° with respect to the conveying direction 82 would also bepossible. Loading of a transport bag from the side is likewise possiblein such a position, although smaller angles of 30° or less are moreadvantageous for automated loading processes, since the minimum requireddistance between the opening of the transport bag and a feed devicedecreases. For an angle of 0°, i.e., for an orientation of thesuspension hook in a plane parallel to the conveying direction, thisdistance is minimal.

A conveying unit 10 according to the invention with an alternativeembodiment of a transport element 40 a is shown in FIG. 1A. Thetransport element 40 a essentially corresponds to the transport bag fromFIG. 1, but without guide rollers. A second hook 58 on which a furthertransport element may be suspended is centrally situated on the rearside of the transport bag 40 a, at the lower end of the support section43. In the exemplary embodiment shown, by way of example a clotheshanger 240 is hung with the hook 241 on the second hook 58 of thetransport bag 40 a.

Such a transport bag has the advantage that it is possible to transportand/or store not only piece goods 70 with the transport bag, butadditionally or alternatively also garments on clothes hangers.Accordingly, only one transport system is necessary for piece goods,which may be introduced into the pocket 47, as well as for goods thattypically must be supported in a suspended manner, for example garmentson clothes hangers.

The second hook may be mounted on a lower end of the support section, asin the example shown, or further up. For example, a hook 58′ may bemounted at the upper end of the support section, as illustrated indashed lines in FIG. 1A. Two or more hooks may also be mounted.

Another advantageous embodiment of a transport element 40 b in the formof a transport bag, as usable in a conveying unit according to theinvention, is schematically illustrated in FIG. 1B. This transportelement may be combined with a carriage and a support hook, as discussedelsewhere in the present description, to form a conveying elementaccording to the invention.

The transport bag transport element 40 b includes a front wall 44, abase section 45′, and a rear wall 42. The front wall 44 at its lower endis joined to the rear wall by lower spacer elements 51, and at its upperend, by upper spacer elements 50, wherein the spacer elements in thefront wall and the rear wall are pivotably supported. The spacerelements 50, 51 in the exemplary embodiment shown are implemented aswire brackets.

The front wall 48 and the rear wall 42 have a stable design, and may bemade, for example, of a suitable plastic material such as a hollowchamber panel that is both stable and lightweight. Unlike the exemplaryembodiment in FIG. 1, the base section is made of a flexible materialsuch as a tear-resistant plastic film. The mechanically stableconnection at the lower end of the front wall and the rear wall isachieved by the lower spacer elements 51.

The spacer elements 50, 51 are situated essentially in parallel to oneanother and have approximately the same length, and the front wall 44 isessentially parallel to the rear wall 42, so that in each case an edgeof the rear wall 42, an edge of the abutting spacers 50, thecorresponding edge of the front wall 44, and the edge of the spacer 51form a parallelogram. In the unloaded state, the weight of the frontwall and the base section may drop the front wall downwardly, so thatthe transport bag goes into a second state in which the front wall andthe rear wall are close to one another. The advantages of thisconfiguration have been discussed above.

Flexibly designed side walls 46 connect the front wall 44, rear wall 42,base section 45′, and the upper spacer element 50 of the correspondingside, resulting in a pocket 47 with an opening into which at least onepiece good unit 70 may be loaded. In the example shown, the side wallsare made of a fine-mesh net. It is also possible to use a flexibletextile material. The side walls 46 are designed in such a way that whenthe transport bag is folded up, they may likewise be folded up.

To increase the mechanical stability, in the exemplary embodiment shownthe spacer elements 50, 51 are slightly bent toward the outside. As aresult, the flexible side walls preferentially move to the outside whenthe pocket is opened, which is advantageous for the introduction ofpiece goods.

The transport bag may be transferred from the second, folded-up state,as shown in FIG. 1B(b), into a first, unfolded state, as shown in FIG.1B(a), by raising the front wall 44 with respect to the rear wall 42.The upwardly directed opening in the pocket 47 of the transport bag 40is now at a maximum size.

Stop brackets 52 that extend outwardly in the lateral direction areprovided at the lower end of the rear wall 42 on both sides. These stops52 ensure that when the front wall 44 is raised with respect to the rearwall 42 to open the pocket 47, the lower spacer elements 51 swivel intothe horizontal toward the front wall, as intended. On the one hand, thestop brackets 52 prevent the spacer elements 51 from swiveling in theopposite direction. On the other hand, the stop brackets are situatedcloser to the front wall than the swivel axis of the spacer elements 51on the rear wall, so that in the second, folded-up state of the pocketthe spacer elements 51 do not hang completely vertically, but insteadare inclined slightly in the direction of the front wall, so that aforce acting from below on the lower edge of the front wall reliablyresults in opening of the pocket.

The rear wall 42 at its upper end is extended into a support section 43,at the upper end of which the suspension hook 41 in the form of a wirebracket is pivotably connected to the rear wall 42 or the supportsection 43 thereof. The bracket of the suspension hook 41 defines anorientation plane of the suspension hook, and thus, of the entiretransport bag.

The wire bracket of the suspension hook 41 is part of a stable wire rodassembly that extends, starting from the wire bracket 41, on both sidesalong the upper edge of the support section 43, the lateral edges of thesupport section 43, and the adjoining lateral edges of the rear wall 42and to the lower end of the rear wall. At that location the wire rodassembly forms the stop brackets 51, and extends further over a portionof the lower edge of the rear wall. The wire rod assembly is connectedto the structure of the rear wall and of the support section along theedges, thus increasing their mechanical stability.

A second possible embodiment of a conveying unit 10 according to theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 2. The carriage conveying element 20and the transport bag 40 with the suspension hook 41 correspond to theexemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, and in this regard have already beendiscussed. The support hook 21 has two bearing segments 22, 23 whichcorrespond to a local minimum 65, 65′, respectively, of the potentialenergy of a suspension hook 41 that is supported in the support hook 21in a suspended manner.

In FIG. 2(a) the suspension hook 41 is situated on the first bearingsegment 22, and assumes a first stable position at the correspondinglocal minimum 65 of the potential energy. The suspension hook 41, andthus the rear wall of the transport bag 40, occupies a plane transverseto the running direction 82 of the carriage 20. In contrast, in FIG.2(b) the suspension hook 41 is situated on the second bearing segment23, and at this local minimum 65′ of the potential energy occupies asecond stable position in which it is oriented in a plane essentiallyparallel to the running direction 82. To go back and forth between thefirst stable position and the second stable position, the suspensionhook must overcome an elevated area 25 of the bracket of the supporthook 21 situated in between.

In the above-mentioned two exemplary embodiments of a conveying unitaccording to the invention, the suspension hook may be transferred backand forth between the two stable positions by rotating the suspensionhook or the transport bag about the longitudinal axis. The suspensionhook hereby overcomes the separating area 25 between the two bearingsegments 22, 23.

FIG. 2A shows another embodiment of a conveying unit 10 according to theinvention. The carriage conveying element 20 and the support hook 21correspond to the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 2, and in this regardhave already been discussed. The transport element 40 is a clotheshanger element in the form of a suspended clothes hanger 240 with asuspension hook 241. A garment is hung on the clothes hanger duringoperation, but is not illustrated for the sake of clarity.

Analogously to FIG. 2, the suspension hook 241 of the clothes hanger 240may assume two stable positions 61, 61′ in the support hook 21. In afirst stable position 61 as shown in FIG. 2A(a), the suspension hook 241is supported on a first bearing segment 22 of the support hook 21. Theplane of the clothes hanger element 241 is essentially transverse to theconveying direction 82. In a second stable position 62 as shown in FIG.2A(b), the suspension hook 241 is supported on a second bearing segment23 of the support hook 21. The plane of the clothes hanger element 241is essentially parallel to the conveying direction 82.

An orientation of the bracket plane transverse to the conveyingdirection allows space-saving conveying and storage of the loadedconveying units. In contrast, an orientation parallel to the conveyingdirection allows, among other things, a view of the front side and rearside of the transported garment, for example for a visual inspection ofa returned garment.

One possible embodiment of a conveying system according to the inventionis illustrated in FIG. 3, having an arrangement for loading transportbags. The conveying units 10 essentially correspond to those from FIG.1, with the carriages 20 schematically illustrated in a simplifiedmanner.

A transport bag 40, driven by gravity, is supplied from the left via aslightly inclined section of the rail 86. The suspension hook is in thefirst stable position, and together with the rear wall of the transportbag 40 is oriented transversely with respect to the conveying direction82. The transport bag 40, which is still empty, is in the second,folded-up state in which the front wall 44 and the base section 45 hangvertically on the spacer elements 50, and the pocket has a minimalthickness.

A pocket 40′ is now further conveyed to the right, via appropriateexternal drive means (not illustrated), to a first operative arrangement90 for actively rotating the transport bag. In the exemplary embodimentshown, the operative arrangement 90 is designed as a brush arrangement,namely, as a brush rotary plate that is vertically raisable andlowerable. When the transport bag, which is still in the first stableposition, is above the rotary plate, the rotary plate is lifted andcontacts the lowest portion of the pocket, namely, the connecting edgebetween the front wall and the base section. The brush rotary plate 90now rotates by 90° in the clockwise direction, thereby entraining thetransport bag 40′, which correspondingly rotates about the axis of thesupport hook. The suspension hook goes from the first stable positioninto the second stable position in which the suspension hook is parallelto the conveying direction 82. The brush rotary plate 90 once againlowers, and the transport bag 40′ remains in the second stable position.

The rotation by the operative arrangement does not necessarily have totake place over the entire rotational angle. It is sufficient for thesuspension hook to be rotated until it overcomes the elevation of thebracket of the support hook between the two bearing segments. Thesuspension hook subsequently goes automatically into the second stableposition and orientation by gravity.

The transport bag 40″ is now conveyed further to the right to an openingmeans 100 for transferring the transport bag into an open state. In theexemplary embodiment shown, the opening means is designed as a liftingtable 100 that raises the front wall 44 of the transport bag 40″, thustransferring the transport bag into the first state. The opening of thepocket 47 of the transport bag is now open at the top. A piece good unit70 may now be introduced into the pocket 47 as schematically illustratedin the figure. The introduction of the piece good unit 70 may take placeby manual or automated insertion or placement, for example via a chute,a conveyor belt, or a robotic arm.

The lifting table 100 is subsequently lowered once again. Since thepocket 47 is no longer empty, the transport bag cannot return from thefirst state into the second state, and remains in a filled intermediatestate.

The pocket 40′″, which is now loaded, is conveyed further to the right,with the suspension hook still in the second stable position. Thetransport bag 40′″ is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, backinto the first stable position, via a further operative arrangement 90′in the form of a raisable and lowerable rotary plate. The suspensionhook and the transport bag are now once again transverse to theconveying direction 82. The filled transport bag is conveyed further tothe right, and is further transported in the conveying system 80according to its further destination.

Another possible embodiment of a conveying system 80 according to theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 3A. The conveying units 10, which areonly schematically illustrated, include support hooks 41 as alreadydiscussed above. Clothes hangers 241, not transport bags, are providedas transport elements.

A clothes hanger transport element 40 loaded with a garment 75, drivenby gravity, is supplied from the left via a slightly inclined section ofthe rail 86. The suspension hook 241 is in the first stable position,and the plane of the clothes hanger 241 is oriented transversely withrespect to the conveying direction 82.

A clothes hanger transport element is now conveyed further to the right,via appropriate external drive means (not illustrated), to a firstoperative arrangement 90 for actively rotating the clothes hanger. Theoperative arrangement 90, which is illustrated only schematically, maybe designed as a brush arrangement, for example, which by a gentleradial application of force brings the clothes hanger transport element40′ into the second stable position in the counterclockwise direction,in relation to the support hook. The suspension hook 241 goes from thefirst stable position into the second stable position in which thesuspension hook and the plane of the clothes hanger are parallel to theconveying direction 82.

The clothes hanger transport element 40′ is now conveyed further to theright, where a camera 95 records the front side of the transportedgarment 75. At the same time, another camera (not illustrated) mayrecord the rear side of the garment. Based on these recordings, forexample the type of garment and its state (for mail order returns, forexample) may then be checked. Such a visual inspection may also beperformed with the human eye instead of by electronic means.

The clothes hanger transport element 40″ is conveyed further to theright, with the suspension hook still in the second stable position. Theclothes hanger transport element 40″ is rotated back into the firststable position, in the clockwise direction, via a further operativearrangement (not illustrated). The suspension hook and the clotheshanger transport element are now once again transverse to the conveyingdirection 82. The clothes hanger transport element is conveyed furtherto the right, and is further transported in the conveying system 80according to its further destination.

Another possible embodiment of a conveying system 80 according to theinvention is schematically illustrated in FIG. 4. A plurality ofconveying units with still empty transport bags 40′ in the folded-upsecond state are provided in a staggered, space-saving arrangement in afeed area. The pockets may be brought into the staggered arrangement andheld therein by appropriate guide means 102, for example. In thisstaggered arrangement, the suspension hooks and the transport bags arealready rotated with respect to the first stable position, transverse tothe conveying direction 82. If the front transport bag in the staggeredarrangement is now conveyed further to the right, in the exemplaryembodiment shown a bracket 103 pushes this pocket further in theclockwise direction about the vertical, so that the suspension hook nowautomatically goes into the second stable position parallel to theconveying direction 82. The pocket 40″ may now be transferred once againinto the first state via a suitable opening means 100.

After the transport bag 40′″ is loaded, it is transferred once againinto the first stable position via suitable means (not illustrated), andcontinues into the conveying system 80 for further use.

The exemplary embodiment from FIG. 4 has the particular advantage thatthe cycle time may be reduced. An empty transport bag to be filled onlyhas to be supplied over a short distance, and to a substantial extent isalready rotated from the first stable position in the direction of thesecond stable position. The remaining swiveling of the transport baginto an orientation plane parallel to the conveying direction then takesplace essentially automatically.

In another embodiment of a conveying system, not illustrated, therotation of the supplied empty transport bags takes place via connectinglinks for the guide rollers 54. While a transport bag is being suppliedin the first stable position transverse to the conveying direction 82,one or both of the guide rollers 54 of the pocket slide(s) into aconnecting link or guide rail. With a suitable arrangement of the guiderail, upon further conveying of the transport bag along the conveyingpath the transport bag is rotated about the axis of the support hook andgoes into the second stable position. The guide slots are now no longernecessary. After the transport bag is opened and filled, it mayanalogously be swiveled back from the second stable position into thefirst stable position.

This variant has the particular advantage that for rotating between thefirst and the second stable positions, a transport bag does not have tobe stopped, which reduces the cycle time.

The various illustrated operative arrangements for rotating thetransport bags may also be combined. In addition, those skilled in theart may use other actuating means via which a rotation of the transportbags may be achieved. For example, rotating devices may be provided thatpush against the pockets and thus cause rotation. Also possible arelinear actuators that push against a pocket and are thus able to rotateit.

The opening means may also be designed as a ramp which is arranged insuch a way that the base section of an empty pocket is continuouslyraised by the ramp during the conveying, so that the pocket goes intothe first, open state.

Another option is the use of a ramp-shaped conveyor belt which,analogously to the above-mentioned ramp, has the advantage that thetransport bag is actively carried along at its lower end, so thatopening the pocket may take place in a very controlled manner.

In a further, third possible embodiment of a conveying unit according tothe invention as illustrated in FIG. 5, the transition between a firststable position and a second stable position of the suspension hooktakes place by rotating the support hook 21 in space.

The conveying element 20 and the transport bag 40 with the suspensionhook 41 once again correspond to the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 1, andin this regard have already been discussed. The support hook 21 of theconveying unit 10 is designed in such a way that in two given positionsof the support hook 21 in space, in each case a bearing segmentcorresponds to a minimum of the potential energy of the suspension hook41 in the support hook 21, i.e., a stable position of the suspensionhook.

The first stable position is not illustrated in FIG. 5, and essentiallycorresponds to the situation in FIG. 2(a), in which the carriage 20 issituated horizontally on the rail 86, and the support hook 21 isoriented essentially vertically downwardly. The suspension hook 41 inthe first stable position is at the local minimum 65 of the potentialenergy, on the first bearing segment 22. The suspension hook 41 isoriented in a plane transverse to the conveying direction 82.

In contrast, in the situation illustrated in FIG. 5, the rail 86 and thecarriage 20 mounted thereon are rotated about the conveying direction 82by an angle of approximately 45°. Similarly, the support hook 21 is alsorotated from the vertical by an angle of approximately 45°. In thisorientation of the support hook 21 in space, it is no longer the firstbearing segment 22, but, rather, the second bearing segment 23 thatcorresponds to a minimum 65′ of the potential energy of the suspensionhook 41 in the bracket of the support hook 21. The suspension hook 41 isin a second stable position, and is oriented in a plane essentiallyparallel to the conveying direction 82.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the transfer of the suspension hookback and forth between the first stable position and the second stableposition takes place by rotating the support hook 21 together with thecarriage 20. This may be easily achieved by providing a twisted rail 86over a sufficiently long area. During the conveying of the carriage 20through a corresponding section of the rail 86, the carriage 20 and thusalso the support hook 21 are likewise rotated. At the same time, thesuspension hook 41 in the bracket of the support hook 21 is raised to anew, unstable position and slides, driven by gravity, from the first, nolonger stable position into the second stable position, or vice versa.The suspension hook 41 correspondingly swivels back and forth betweenthe associated orientation planes.

This embodiment of a conveying unit has the particular advantage thatthe rotation of the suspension hook may be integrated directly into theconveying process without the need for stopping or decelerating aconveying unit for rotating the suspension hook and the transport bag.Accordingly, short cycle times are possible.

A further advantage is that various types of transport elements, forexample transport bags and clothes hangers, may be simultaneously used,so that for the various types of transport elements there is no need forvarious operative arrangements for rotating the particular transportelements.

In another advantageous embodiment variant of a conveying unit 10according to the invention, as shown in FIG. 5A, the support hook 21 isdesigned in such a way that in a first given position of the supporthook 21 in space (see vertical 5), a bearing segment 22 corresponds to alocal minimum of the potential energy of the suspension hook 41 in thesupport hook 21, i.e., a stable position of the suspension hook. Thisfirst position is apparent in FIG. 5A(a), and is analogous to theorientation in FIG. 1(a), for example. The suspension hook 41 is in theonly stable position, with the transport element oriented transverselywith respect to the conveying direction.

In a second given position of the support hook 21 in space, as shown inFIG. 5A(b), corresponding to a rotation by 45° with respect to thevertical 5, the support hook has two bearing segments 22, 23 whichcorrespond to a local minimum of the potential energy of the suspensionhook in the support hook, i.e., two possible stable positions of thesuspension hook. The first bearing segment 22 corresponds to the singlebearing segment 22 in the first given position of the support hook inspace, in which the transport element is transverse to the conveyingdirection. For the second bearing segment 23, the transport element isoriented parallel to the conveying direction.

If the support hook, starting from the orientation shown in FIG. 5A(a),is rotated by 45°, upon rotation of the support hook from the first intothe second orientation, the suspension hook 41 in the support hook 21for the time being remains in the same stable position on the bearingsegment 22 (illustrated in dashed lines). However, by rotating thetransport element, for example via a tangential force acting on thetransport element, the suspension hook 41 in the support hook 21 may nowbe brought from this first stable position 22 into the second stableposition 23, as shown in FIG. 5A(b), and also back into the first stableposition 22, in each case by overcoming a local maximum 25 of thepotential energy.

If the support hook 21 is rotated back into the first given position,the suspension hook 41, driven by gravity, slides from the secondposition 23 in the support hook, which is no longer stable, directlyback into what is now the only stable position 22, as illustrated inFIG. 5A(a). If the suspension hook 41 is already in the first stableposition 23 in the support hook, it naturally remains there.

Such a conveying unit has the advantage that in a first orientation ofthe support hook, which corresponds to the standard orientation of therail, only one defined orientation of the transport element is possible.In order to activate the option for reversibly switching between twoorientations of the transport element, the rail, rotated by 45°, issituated in a corresponding partial area of the conveying path.

The illustrated embodiment variant may of course also be implementedusing clothes hanger transport elements. The rotation of the suspensionhook and of the clothes hanger without interrupting the conveyingprocesses is particularly advantageous for an automatic visualinspection with a high clock rate, for example for quality controlwithin a manufacturing process.

A fourth possible embodiment of a conveying unit 10 according to theinvention, with a transport bag 340 as transport element 40, is shown ina detailed view in FIG. 6. The carriage 20 is only schematicallyillustrated. The suspension hook 341 a, 341 b and the upper end of thesupport section 343 are the only portions of the transport bag 340 thatare visible. Otherwise, the transport bag 340 corresponds to thetransport bags from FIGS. 1 and 1A.

The support hook is made up of a first support hook element 321 a and asecond support hook element in the form of a pin 321 b that nonrotatablyconnects the first support hook element 321 a to the carriage 20. Thefirst support hook element 321 is made up of a cylinder that is alignedwith the pin 321 b. The end face of the cylinder facing the carriage 20is advantageously designed as an undulated support surface 326. Thissupport surface has radially symmetrical depressions 324 and elevations325 that are uniformly spaced in the radial direction. In the exemplaryembodiment shown, the angle between two depressions is 90°.

The suspension hook of the transport bag is made up of two elements 341a, 341 b. A lower bracket-shaped, second element 341 b is connected tothe support section 343 of the transport bag. At the upper end thebracket-shaped, second support hook element 341 b is connected to afirst support hook element 341 a. The bracket 341 b may be connected tothe first support hook element 341 a so that it is pivotable about ahorizontal axis, or is nonrotatable, depending on the intendedapplication. The first support hook element 341 a has a design that isanalogous to the first support hook element 321 a, having an undulatedsupport surface, facing the support section with four depressions andfour elevations, and resting flush on the undulated support surface ofthe first support hook element 341 a. A continuous borehole throughwhich the pin 321 b extends is situated in the center of the firstsupport hook element 341 a.

In the first stable position shown in FIG. 6(a), the support section ofthe transport bag is oriented essentially transversely with respect tothe conveying direction. An elevation, denoted by reference character“A,” on the support surface of the first suspension hook element 341 arests in a depression, denoted by reference character “B,” in thesupport surface of the first support hook element 321 a. If thetransport bag 340 is now rotated along the axis by the pin 321 b, theelevation “A” of the support surface of the first suspension hookelement 341 a slides upwardly on the support surface of the firstsupport hook element 321 a, overcomes the elevation, denoted byreference character “D,” of the support surface of the first supporthook element 321 a, and slides back downwardly into a stable position,as shown in FIG. 6(b). The elevation “A” of the support surface of thefirst suspension hook element 341 a now rests in the depression, denotedby reference character “C,” in the support surface of the first supporthook element 321 a. The suspension hook is now in a second stableposition in which the support section 343 of the transport bag extendsessentially parallel to the conveying direction 82.

The angle between the first stable position and the second stableposition of the suspension hook 341 a on the support hook 321 a isspecified by the angle between two adjoining elevations 325. In theexemplary embodiment shown, the angle is accordingly 90°. However, otherangles are also achievable, for example 30°, 45°, or 120°, as long as aninteger multiple thereof results in 360°.

Such a conveying unit is particularly advantageous due to the fact thatit allows not only rotation back and forth between two stable positions,but also further rotation of the suspension hook in both directions, ineach case in the predefined discrete angular increments.

The first support hook element 321 a and the first suspension hookelement 341 a may be cost-effectively manufactured by injection molding,using a suitable plastic material such as HDPE.

A fifth possible embodiment of a conveying unit 10 according to theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 7. The support hook 321 a, 321 b aswell as the first suspension hook element 441 a correspond to those fromFIG. 6. The second suspension hook element 441 b is designed as a closedbracket. A hook 243 of a clothes hanger 240 is once again hung in thisbracket.

A sixth possible embodiment of a conveying unit 10 according to theinvention is shown in FIG. 8. The transport element 40 is designed as aclothes hanger 540. The support hook is made up of two support hookelements 521 a, 521 b. A first support hook element 521 a has anundulated support surface, analogously to the embodiments in FIGS. 6 and7. The first support hook element is connected to a carriage 20 via twobars of the second support hook element 521 b. The suspension hook ofthe transport element 40 is made up of two suspension hook elements 541a, 541 b. A first suspension hook element 541 a includes an undulatedsupport surface, analogously to the embodiments in FIGS. 6 and 7. Thesecond suspension hook element in the form of a rod or pin 541 b extendsthrough a borehole in the first support hook element 521 a, and connectsthe first suspension hook element 541 a to the clothes hanger 540.

Such a variant of a conveying unit according to the invention isparticularly advantageous in cases where garments for further processingare temporarily hung on clothes hangers, for example for processing mailorder returns, or for checkrooms.

A seventh possible embodiment of a conveying unit 10 according to theinvention is illustrated in FIG. 8. In this embodiment variant, thetransport element is designed as a holding device 550 for a plurality ofcontainers 76. In the example shown, the holding device 550, onlyschematically shown, with two parallel holding elements 551 holds fivecontainers 76 in a row in a form-fit and/or force-fit manner. Thecontainers may be released or reversibly fixed by means of aschematically shown actuating element 552. The actuating element may beactivated by integrated or external actuator devices, or also manually.

The support hook essentially corresponds to the support hook as shown inFIG. 8. The support hook includes two support hook elements 521 a, 521b, of which a first support hook element 521 a has an undulated supportsurface, and is connected to the carriage 20 by two bars of the secondsupport hook element 521 b. The suspension hook of the transport element40 is made up of two suspension hook elements 541 a, 541 b, of which afirst suspension hook element 541 a has an undulated support surface.The second suspension hook element in the form of a rod or pin 541 bextends through a borehole in the first support hook element 521 a, andconnects the first suspension hook element 541 a to the holding device550 for containers.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 9, the suspension hook is in a firststable position in which the holding device 550 is essentiallytransverse to the rail 86 and the conveying direction 82. In thisconfiguration, loaded or empty conveying elements 10 may be accumulated,buffered, or stored along the rail 86 with minimal space requirements.

Two shock absorber elements 27, 27′, mounted in flush alignment with therail 86 on both sides of the carriage 20, in this configuration ensure aminimum distance between individual conveying units 10, and are used asshock absorbers between the conveying units. The shock absorber elementsmay be designed, for example, as blocks made of a suitable elastomer.

In a second configuration not illustrated, the suspension hook is in asecond stable position in which the holding device 550 is essentiallyparallel to the conveying direction 86. In this configuration, thecontainers of the holding device are thus also in flush alignment withand parallel to the conveying direction 86. In the second configurationit is possible, for example, to release containers 76 that are suppliedby a conveying unit 10, so that they may be received by a furtherconveying means, for example a belt conveyor, for further processing.Alternatively, containers that are supplied by a further conveyingmeans, such as the above-mentioned belt conveyor, may also be receivedby an empty conveying unit in the second configuration. The conveyingunit 10 according to the invention thus offers the advantage that thistransfer between conveying units 10 according to the invention may becarried out continuously. For this purpose, the conveying units must beguided on their conveying path at the same speed as the other conveyorsduring the transfer, in parallel and with a suitable orientationrelative to one another. The holding device is advantageously likewiseactuated during the conveying.

A visual inspection of the containers is simplified in this position.

FIG. 10 schematically shows the use of conveying units according to theinvention, similarly to those from FIG. 9. The conveying units, onlyschematically shown, have two spacer elements 28, 28′ on the carriage 20in addition to the shock absorber elements 27, 27′, which are active inthe conveying direction. In the example shown, the stated spacerelements are designed as rods that are situated on the suspension hookin parallel to the holding device.

The spacer elements 28, 28′ protrude beyond the holding device to theextent that in the accumulated, staggered arrangement of the conveyingunits in the second configuration, as illustrated in section A of theconveying path, containers 76 or holding devices 550 of adjacentconveying units cannot make contact. However, the shock absorberelements 27, 27′ of the carriages have no function, since they cannotmake contact.

In the first configuration of the conveying units in which the holdingdevices are oriented transversely with respect to the rail, as shown insection C of FIG. 10, once again the spacer elements 28, 28′ have nofunction. The shock absorber elements 27, 27′ are used here as spacerelements, which are arranged in such a way that in this configuration aswell, containers of adjacent conveying units cannot make contact.

FIG. 11 schematically shows the transition between the firstconfiguration of the conveying units in section C and the secondconfiguration of the conveying units in section A. If the transport ofthe conveying units takes place from left to right, in section B theholding devices supported on the suspension hook rotate about therotational axis by overcoming the unstable intermediate state, asexplained in conjunction with FIG. 6. The suspension hook, rotated by90°, then engages in the new stable position. To initiate the rotation,for example a suitable actuator device may push against the holdingdevice or the spacer elements.

If the transport takes place from right to left, the holding devicessupported on the suspension hook in section C rotate about therotational axis until the new stable configuration in section A isreached.

Another advantageous embodiment of a conveying system according to theinvention is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, with an advantageous openingdevice 101 for opening conveying units 10, in the form of transportbags, conveyed in the conveying system. The conveying units 10essentially correspond to those from FIG. 5A.

A plurality of empty transport bags to be filled is provided in astaggered arrangement in a section of the conveying path notillustrated, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, or in some other way. Ineach case a conveying unit is released and transferred to a worm drive.The worm drive, as an external drive means for the conveying units, ismade up of screw conveyors 88 with associated drive motors 89. The screwconveyors have a cylindrical body with a helical slot thereon which isused as a rotating operative connecting link slot 87 for a guide pin 29of a carriage 20 of a conveying unit 10 situated therein. For a givenrotational direction and rotational speed of the screw conveyor 88, theconveying speed of the carriage 20 on the rail 89, and thus, the speedof the transversal displacement of the conveying unit 10 along theconveying path 82, is determined by the slope of the connecting linkslot 87. Thus, for example, in the exemplary embodiment shown, in anacceleration area of the worm drive at the right the slope of theconnecting link slot continuously increases from right to left. For aconstantly rapidly rotating screw conveyor 88, this results in acontinuous acceleration of an initially vertical conveying unit 10. Theconveying unit moves from right to left through the opening device 101of the conveying system.

In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 12, the rail 86′ is rotated by 45°about the conveying axis with respect to the vertical in an area, notillustrated, to the right of the diagram and in the area of the openingdevice 101. For the conveying units 10, which correspond to those inFIG. 5A, this results in rotation of the carriage 20, and thus also ofthe support hooks 21, by 45° with respect to the vertical. In thisorientation, for the corresponding support hooks there are two stableorientations of the transport bag: transverse to the conveying directionand parallel to the conveying direction.

The transport bags are transferred from the orientation transverse tothe conveying direction into the parallel orientation, and provided in astaggered arrangement, by means that are not illustrated.

If an individual conveying unit (in FIG. 12, the conveying unit 10 a) isnow released from the staggered storage unit and received by the wormdrive, the transport bag is thus already in a stable configuration inwhich the transport bag remains in the orientation parallel to theconveying direction without external action means.

After passing by the opening device, the rail 86′ once again goes into aconfiguration in which it is rotated by 0° with respect to the vertical.In this area 86″, the carriages 20 and the support hooks 21 are thusalso rotated by 0° with respect to the vertical. In this configurationthere is only one stable orientation of the transport bags in thesupport hook, namely, transverse to the conveying direction. Uponpassing by the transition area of the rail between the areas 86′ and86″, the transport bags (in FIG. 12, the conveying unit 10 d) orientedparallel to the conveying direction 82 now rotate(s) automatically intowhat is now the only stable position, transverse to the conveyingdevice. An additional operating device is not necessary.

The opening device 101 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 13. The openingdevice 101 includes a plurality of conveying and lifting units 104 thatis in a staggered arrangement along the conveying path of the conveyingunits. A conveying and lifting unit 104 includes in each case a framestructure 107 on which two roller elements 105, 106 that are supportedso as to be rotatable at an angle of essentially 90° are situated. Theupper roller 105 and the lower roller 106 are operatively connected to adrive arrangement 108. In the exemplary embodiment shown, a shaft 108 cof the drive arrangement is driven by a drive motor, not illustrated,via a primary drive belt 108 a. The shaft 108 c of the drive arrangementin turn drives the individual conveying and lifting units 104 via aplurality of secondary drive belts 108 b. The secondary drive belt 108 bdrives the upper roller element 105 via an upper bevel gear 107 a, andthe upper roller element in turn drives the lower roller element 106 viaa lower bevel gear 107 b. The gear ratios of the components are selectedin such a way that all rollers of all conveying and lifting units havethe same rotational speed and the same rotational direction.

The drive of the roller elements 105, 106 may also be provided in someother way, for example via separate drives for the individual conveyingand lifting units or the individual rollers, via separate drive shaftsfor the upper rollers and lower rollers, via a serial operativeconnection of the lower rollers 106 and upper rollers 105 with a spurgear, or combinations thereof.

If a conveying unit 10 a is conveyed by the conveying drive all the wayto the right into the area of the first conveying and lifting unit 104,the underlying edge 44 a of the front wall 44 of the empty transport bagof the conveying unit 10 contacts the lower roller 106.

The individual conveying and lifting units 104 are situated insuccession, with a gradual incline, in a first section A of the openingdevice 101. As a result, during the conveying of the conveying unit 10the lower edge 44 a of the transport bag is gradually pushed upwardlyfrom right to left through section A (corresponding to conveying units10 a, 10 b, 10 c) via the successive lower rollers 106, while theremainder of the pocket, in particular the rear wall 42, does notinteract with the rollers.

The roller elements 105, 106, only illustrated schematically, areadvantageously designed as brush rollers, or alternatively are made of arelatively flexible foam material. The flexibility of the rollersminimizes the mechanical wear on the bags, and also ensures alow-vibration transition between successive rollers.

Due to the raising of the lower edge 44 a of the front wall 44 of thetransport bag, and thus of the front wall 44 itself, as a result of theoperative connection 50, 51 with the rear wall 42 the front wall movesaway from the rear wall in the direction of the upper roller elements105. The pocket opening in the transport bag is continuously open up toa given, desired point.

The lower roller elements 106 and upper roller elements 105, situated atright angles relative to one another, are perpendicular to the conveyingaxis 82. The roller elements 105, 106 are slightly rotated about theconveying axis 82 with respect to the vertical 5, for example by anangle of 5-15°. The rotational speed of the rollers 105, 106 is adaptedto the conveying speed of the conveying units in such a way that thetangential peripheral speed of the roller elements essentiallycorresponds to the conveying speed of the conveying units. Incombination, this results in the formation of an ascending conveying andlifting channel 109 by the pair of rollers 105, 106, in which thepockets of the conveying units are reliably opened. In addition, thechannel 109 stabilizes the transport bags, so that residual vibrationsof the transport bag in the stable position on the support hook aresuppressed in the transverse or longitudinal direction or about thevertical, even at high conveying speeds.

The height of the successive conveying and lifting units 104 no longerchanges in a subsequent section B of the opening device 101. In thisconfiguration, the transport bag of the conveying unit 10 d may now befilled, for example by manually or automatically tossing a piece goodunit into the continuously moving transport bag 10. For this purpose,the conveying unit may be slowed down by an appropriate configuration ofthe screw conveyor 88.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, three conveying and lifting units aresituated in succession in section B. This number may also be larger, forexample for higher conveying speeds, so that the transport bag mayremain in the open state for a longer time.

When a conveying unit 10 d leaves the opening device 101 at the end ofthe second section B, the support of the front wall 44 is discontinued.The front wall drops downwardly due to its own weight and the weight ofthe introduced load, provided that the volume of the load allows this.The conveying unit concurrently or subsequently leaves the area 86′ ofthe rail and goes into the area 86″, as the result of which thetransport bag swivels into the orientation transverse to the conveyingdirection, in which it may be conveyed, buffered, and stored in aspace-saving manner.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the specificembodiments described herein. Rather, the description and the associatedfigures, in addition to the examples disclosed herein, result in variousfurther modifications of the present invention for those skilled in theart, which likewise are encompassed by the protective scope of theclaims. Furthermore, various references are cited in the description,the disclosed content of which is hereby fully incorporated by referenceinto the description.

1. A conveying unit (10) for transporting transport elements (40, 240,340, 540, 550) in a suspended manner in a conveying system (80), inparticular a rail-guided conveying system or a conveyor chain system,comprising: a support hook (21, 321 a, 521 a) that is mounted on aconveying element (20), a transport element (40, 240, 340, 540, 550),and a suspension hook (41, 241, 341 a, 441 a, 541 a) that is mounted onthe transport element, wherein the suspension hook is supported in thesupport hook in a suspended manner; wherein the support hook isconfigured so that the suspension hook assumes at least two stablepositions (61, 62) in the support hook, wherein the suspension hook in afirst stable position (61) is rotated by an angle relative to thesuspension hook into a second stable position (62).
 2. The conveyingunit according to claim 1, wherein the suspension hook (41, 241, 341 a,441 a, 541 a) is transferable back and forth between the first stableposition (61) and the second stable position (62) in such a way that thesuspension hook continuously rests on the support hook (21, 321 a, 521a).
 3. The conveying unit according to claim 1, wherein the support hook(21, 321 a, 521 a) has a first bearing segment (22) and a second bearingsegment (23); in the first stable position (61) the suspension hook (41,241, 341 a, 441 a, 541 a b) rests on the first segment, and in thesecond stable position (62) rests on the second segment, and situatedbetween the first segment and the second segment is a connecting segmenton which the suspension hook is slidingly transferable back and forthbetween the first stable position and the second stable position.
 4. Theconveying unit according to claim 1, wherein the support hook (21, 321a, 521 a) has a first bearing segment (22) and a second bearing segment(23); wherein the support hook is configured so that in a given firstspatial orientation of the support hook, the suspension hook (41, 241,341 a, 441 a, 541 a) may assume a first stable position (61) on thefirst bearing segment, in which the suspension hook is oriented in afirst plane; and in a given second spatial orientation of the supporthook, which may be the same as or different from the first spatialorientation, the suspension hook may assume a second stable position(62) on the second bearing segment, in which the suspension hook isoriented in a second plane; wherein the suspension hook is transferableback and forth between the first position and the second position. 5.The conveying unit according to claim 4, wherein the support hook (21,321 a, 521 a) is configured so that in a given spatial orientation ofthe support hook, the suspension hook (41, 241, 341 a, 441 a, 541 a) mayassume the first stable position (61) on the first bearing segment (22),in which the suspension hook is oriented in the first plane; and in thesame spatial orientation of the support hook, the suspension hook mayassume the second stable position (62) on the second bearing segment(23), in which the suspension hook is oriented in the second plane,wherein the first position and the second position correspond to localminima (65) of the potential energy of the transport element (40) thatis supported in a suspended manner, and wherein the suspension hook istransferable back and forth between the first stable position and thesecond stable position by rotating the suspension hook about a givenrotational angle.
 6. The conveying unit according to claim 4, whereinthe support hook (21) is configured so that in a given first spatialorientation of the support hook, the suspension hook (41) may assume thefirst stable position (61) on the first bearing segment (22), in whichthe suspension hook is oriented in the first plane; and in a secondspatial orientation of the support hook that is different from the givenfirst spatial orientation, the suspension hook may assume the secondstable position (62) on the second bearing segment (23), in which thesuspension hook is oriented in the second plane, wherein in the givenfirst spatial orientation of the support hook, the first positioncorresponds to a minimum (65) of the potential energy of the transportelement that is supported in a suspended manner; in the given secondspatial orientation of the support hook, the second position correspondsto a minimum (65′) of the potential energy of the transport element thatis supported in a suspended manner, and the suspension hook istransferable back and forth between the first position and the secondposition by rotating the support hook about a given rotational angle. 7.The conveying unit according to claim 6, wherein the suspension hook(41) is transferable back and forth between the first position (61) andthe second position (62) by rotating the conveying element (20) aboutthe conveying direction (82).
 8. The conveying unit according to claim4, wherein the support hook (21, 321 a, 521 a) is configured so that ina given first spatial orientation of the support hook, the suspensionhook (41, 241, 341 a, 441 a, 541 a) may assume the first stable position(61) on the first bearing segment (22), in which the suspension hook isoriented in the first plane; and in a second spatial orientation of thesupport hook that is different from the given first spatial orientation,the suspension hook may assume the first stable position (61) on thefirst bearing segment (22), in which the suspension hook is oriented inthe first plane, and may also assume the second stable position (62) onthe second bearing segment (23), in which the suspension hook isoriented in the second plane, wherein in the given first spatialorientation of the support hook, the first position corresponds to aminimum (65) of potential energy of the transport element that issupported in a suspended manner, and wherein in the second spatialorientation, the first position and the second position correspond tolocal minima (65) of potential energy of the transport element (40) thatis supported in a suspended manner, and wherein the suspension hook istransferable back and forth between the first stable position and thesecond stable position by rotating the suspension hook about a givenrotational angle.
 9. The conveying unit according to claim 8, whereinthe suspension hook (41) is transferable from the second position (62)into the first position (61) by rotating the conveying element (20)about the conveying direction (82).
 10. The conveying unit according toclaim 1, wherein the transport element (40, 340) is a container with atleast one stable wall.
 11. The conveying unit according to claim 1,wherein the transport element is a transport bag (40, 340).
 12. Theconveying unit according to claim 11, wherein the transport bag (40,340) includes a rear wall (42) and a front wall (44) that are flexiblyjoined together via a base section (45) in such a way that they aremovable back and forth between a first state in which they form a pocket(47) that is open and fillable at the top, and a second state in whichthey are situated close together and form a folded-up bag, wherein therear wall is extended upwardly beyond the level of the front wall, witha support section (43) for fastening the transport bag to the conveyingelement (20), and wherein the suspension hook (41) is mounted on anupper end of the support section.
 13. The conveying unit according toclaim 12, wherein the transport bag (40, 340) has opening means that canautomatically bring the transport bag into the first state and hold itthere.
 14. The conveying unit according to claim 10, wherein at leastone spacer element (50, 51) is situated between the front wall (44) andthe rear wall (42) of the transport bag (40, 340) and is pivotablyconnected to the front wall and the rear wall, respectively, wherein theat least one spacer element is designed and arranged in such a way thatwhen the pocket (47) is empty, the transport bag automatically goes fromthe first state into the second state by gravity.
 15. The conveying unitaccording to claim 14, wherein the transport bag (40, 340) may bebrought from the second state into the first state by raising the frontwall (44).
 16. The conveying unit according to claim 14, wherein aspacer element (50, 51) is situated between the front wall (44) and therear wall (42) of the transport bag (40, 340), at a lower end of thefront wall and at an upper end of the front wall, on both sides in eachcase, and is pivotably connected to the front wall and the rear wall,respectively.
 17. The conveying unit according to claim 14, wherein thespacer elements (50, 51) have a bend that is directed away from thepocket interior.
 18. The conveying unit according to claim 14, whereinthe transport element (40, 340) has at least one stop bracket (52) on arear wall (45) that prevents or hinders swiveling of a spacer element(50, 51) beyond the plane, formed by the rear wall, on the side of therear wall facing away from the front wall (44).
 19. The conveying unitaccording to claim 10, wherein the transport element (40, 340) has atleast one second hook (58, 58′).
 20. The conveying unit according toclaim 1, wherein the transport element (240, 540) is at least one of aclothes hanger, a suspended clothes hanger, and a clamping bracket. 21.The conveying unit according to claim 1, wherein the transport element(40, 550) is a device for holding two or more containers.
 22. Aconveying system (80) for the guided suspended transport of transportelements (40, 240, 340, 540, 550), in particular transport bags and/orclothes hanger elements, along a conveying path, having at least oneconveying unit (10) according to claim
 1. 23. The conveying systemaccording to claim 22, wherein the first plane, in which the suspensionhook (41, 241, 341 a, 441 a, 541 a) is oriented in the first stableposition (61), is essentially transverse to the conveying direction(82); and the second plane, in which the suspension hook is oriented inthe second stable position (62), is essentially parallel to theconveying direction.
 24. The conveying system according to claim 21,wherein an operative arrangement (90) is provided, via which thetransport elements (40, 240, 340, 540, 550) are rotated about a givenrotational angle at a given location on the conveying path, so that thesuspension hook (41, 241, 341 a, 441 a, 541 a) is transferred from thefirst position (61) into the second position (62), or from the secondposition into the first position.
 25. The conveying system according toclaim 24, wherein at least one of a brush arrangement, a mechanical, anelectrical, a magnetic, and a pneumatic actuating means is provided asan operative arrangement (90).
 26. The conveying system according toclaim 22, wherein in one given section of the conveying path the supporthook (21, 321 a, 521 a) of the conveying unit (10) is oriented in such away that the suspension hook (41, 241, 341 a, 441 a, 541 a) of thetransport element (40, 240, 340, 540, 550) assumes a first stableposition (61), and in another given section the support hook of theconveying unit is oriented in such a way that the suspension hook of thetransport element assumes a second stable position (62).
 27. Theconveying system according to claim 26, wherein transferring thesuspension hook (41, 241, 341 a) from the first stable position (61)into the second stable position (62), or from the second stable positioninto the first stable position, is initiated by rotating the conveyingelement (20) about the conveying direction (82) during the transitionbetween the one given section and the other given section of theconveying path.
 28. The conveying system according to claim 22, whereinopening means (100, 101) are provided via which a transport bag (40,340) may be brought into the first open state at a given location on theconveying path, with the suspension hook (21, 321 a) in the secondposition (62) and the rear wall (42, 43) of the transport bag orientedessentially parallel to the conveying direction.
 29. The conveyingsystem according to claim 28, wherein at least one of a liftingarrangement, a lifting table, and a ramp arrangement, is provided as anopening means (100, 101).
 30. The conveying system according to claim28, wherein an opening device (101) is provided as an opening means,comprising a plurality of staggered conveying and lifting devices (104)having a lower roller element (106), so that the lower roller elementsof the opening device form an ascending ramp.
 31. The conveying systemaccording to claim 30, wherein the conveying and lifting devices (104)have an upper roller element (105), so that the lower roller elements(106) and the upper roller elements (105) of the opening device (101)form a conveyor channel (109).
 32. The conveying system according toclaim 30, wherein the lower roller elements (106) and/or the upperroller elements (105) of the conveying and lifting units (104) areactively driven.
 33. The conveying system according to claim 30, whereinthe lower roller elements (106) and the upper roller elements (105) ofthe conveying and lifting units (104) are arranged at an angle between75° and 105° relative to one another, and perpendicular to the conveyingdirection (82).
 34. The conveying system according to claim 33, whereinthe lower roller elements (106) are inclined with respect to thehorizontal by an angle between 5° and 30°.
 35. The conveying systemaccording to claim 28, wherein the opening means includes a lower beltconveyor situated in a ramp-shaped manner.
 36. The conveying systemaccording to claim 35, wherein the opening means includes an upper beltconveyor, so that the lower belt conveyor and the upper belt conveyorform a conveyor channel.
 37. The conveying system according to claim 28,having a device for introducing piece good units (70) into the openpocket (47) of the transport bag (40, 340).
 38. The conveying systemaccording to claim 22, wherein a plurality of transport elements (40,240, 340, 540, 550) may be provided in a staggered arrangement in aprovision section of the conveying path.
 39. A conveying system (80) forthe guided suspended transport of transport elements (40, 240, 340, 540,550) along a conveying path, which is designed in such a way that aplurality of transport elements may be provided in a staggeredarrangement on a given section of the conveying path.
 40. A method forintroducing piece goods into transport elements of a conveying system,comprising the steps: providing a conveying system (80) according toclaim 22; supplying a conveying unit (10) of the conveying system alongthe conveying path, with the suspension hook (41, 341 a) of thetransport element (40, 340) in the first stable position (61);transferring the suspension hook of the transport element of the statedconveying unit from the first stable position into the second stableposition (62); introducing at least one piece good unit (70) into theready-to-receive transport element of the stated conveying unit; andtransferring the suspension hook of the stated transport element fromthe second stable position into the first stable position.
 41. Themethod according to claim 40, wherein the conveying units (10) of theconveying system (80) are conveying units according to claim 9; whereinin the first position (61) of the suspension hook (41, 341 a) the rearwall (42) of the transport bag (40, 340) is oriented essentiallytransversely with respect to the conveying direction (82); and whereinin the second position (62) of the suspension hook the rear wall of thetransport bag is oriented essentially parallel to the conveyingdirection.
 42. The method according to claim 40, wherein prior tointroducing a piece good unit (70) into the pocket (47) of the transportbag (40, 340) of a conveying unit (10), the transport bag is transferredfrom the second state into the first state.
 43. The method according toclaim 40, wherein a plurality of transport bags (40, 340) is provided ina staggered arrangement.
 44. A method for visually inspecting garmentshung on clothes hanger transport elements of a conveying system orcontainers held in container holding devices of a conveying system,comprising the steps: providing a conveying system (80) according to oneof claim 22; supplying a conveying unit (10) of the conveying systemalong the conveying path, with the suspension hook (41, 241, 541 a) ofthe clothes hanger transport element (40, 240) or the container holdingdevice transport element (40, 550) in the first stable position (61);transferring the suspension hook of the clothes hanger transport elementor of the container holding device transport element of the statedconveying unit from the first stable position into the second stableposition (62); visually inspecting (95) the front side and/or rear sideof a garment (75) hung on the clothes hanger transport element or acontainer (76) held in the container holding device of the transportelement; and transferring the suspension hook of the clothes hangertransport element or of the container holding device transport elementfrom the second stable position into the first stable position.
 45. Themethod according to claim 44, wherein the conveying units (10) of theconveying system (80) are conveying units according to claim 20; whereinin the first position (61) of the suspension hook (41, 241, 441 a, 541a) the clothes hanger transport element (240, 540) or the containerholding device transport element (40, 550) is oriented essentiallytransversely with respect to the conveying direction (82); and whereinin the second position (62) of the suspension hook the clothes hangertransport element or the container holding device transport element isoriented essentially parallel to the conveying direction.
 46. The methodaccording to claim 44, wherein prior to the visual inspection (95) ofthe front side and/or rear side of a garment (75) hung on the clotheshanger transport element, or of a container (76) held on the containerholding device of the transport element, the clothes hanger transportelement or the container holding device transport element is transferredfrom the second state into the first state.